John Adams
CAUTION: This article contains heavy spoilers for both The Conduit and Conduit 2. John Adams is the alias of a progenitor named Enlil. He is the Commander of The Trust organization and the main antagonist of the Conduit series. In The Conduit he hires Michael Ford to The Trust, after Ford saved President Charles Thompson from an assassination attempt, kickstarting the events of the game. In Conduit 2 his goal is to kill all of the other progenitors, taking their power for his own. Background Not much information is known about this shady figure. When first contacting Ford, Adams stated that his authorization number was " Kilo Bravo July 221797." In real life U.S. history, John Adams took office as the 2nd President of the U.S. on March 4, 1797. On July 22nd of 1797, Adams issued a Proclamation concerning the mintage of silver coins. Kilo could suggest coins, Bravo is equivalent to 2, as in the 2nd President, and July 221797 is the date Adams issued the Proclamation concerning the mintage of silver coins.http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=65627&st=&st1= According to one of the hidden messages in the level "Checkmate", John Adams, referred to by his birth name Enlil, achieved success in Kecksburg. This alludes to the real-life December 9, 1965 UFO incident in Kecksburg, Pennsylvania, where eyewitnesses claimed "an object in the shape of an acorn and about as large as a Volkswagen Beetle" crashed in the local woods, with writing resembling Egyptian hieroglyphics also said to be in a band around the base of the object. The Drudge alphabet may mirror the hieroglyphics of this alleged object. Involvement The Conduit On October 1st, 2012, John Adams hired Secret Service Agent Michael Ford to The Trust after he saved the President's life. Ford's first mission was to track down a supposed terrorist named Prometheus, who stole an important Trust prototype, the ASE. Adams then sends Ford to Prometheus's supposed base, a defunct Cold War Bunker, to discover more of his plans. There, Ford discovers an alien species known as The Drudge, and covers Adams tracks by destroying his cache of neurotoxin (thinking they belong to Prometheus). After he surfaces outside Jefferson Memorial, Adams betrays Ford, leaving him to die at the hands of The Drudge. Surprised to see Ford (having been saved by Prometheus) alive arriving at the Library of Congress, Adams offers Ford a chance to join The Trust, though Ford refuses. Eventually, Ford makes his way to The Trust's headquarters, where it is revealed that The Drudge are being manufactured by Adams from Prometheus's DNA, and are being deployed through the use of Conduits. Adams activates the base's self-destruct sequence, and escapes through a conduit before Ford can confront him. Conduit 2 Adams arrives at a Trust-owned Oil Derrick, with Ford following him through the same conduit minutes later. As Ford navigates the rig towards Adams, Adams taunts him, revealing that the self-destruct sequence killed everyone within a fifty mile radius via radiation poisoning, including Ford's family. Shortly thereafter, Ford spots Adams from a distance preparing to enter the rig's only conduit. Adams taunts Ford yet again and enters the conduit shortly before it is destroyed by the Leviathan.Conduit 2 - Oil Rig After the rest of the Progenitors die, Adams and the Trust follow Ford back to Atlantis, where he and a strike team attempt to kill Ford, Andromeda, and destroy Atlantis in the process. After his shielding and his forces are destroyed, Adams shapeshifts into his true Progenitor form, a gigantic blue-skinned bipedal alien, but not before revealing that he and Prometheus are brothers. Ford tackles Adams, and both fall though an active conduit, transporting them to Agartha, located in the center of the Earth, where Adams and Ford engage each other. Adams is killed in the clash, and Ford utilised the ASE to harvest his essence from his defeated husk. Realizing that all of the progenitors are deceased, the ASE sends a signal into deep space alerting a dormant Tiamat, who in the closing moments of Conduit 2, begins heading towards Earth. form, during the final boss battle in Agartha]] Quotes "Hello Mr. Ford. It's time to go to work." "I am Mr. Adams. I am part of a clandestine organization known as 'The Trust.' We have safeguarded this country for over 200 years and we need your help. Your performance in the Aero-Evac incident greatly impressed us. As a result, I have asked the President for the use of your services to tackle a special assignment. My authorization is Kilo Bravo July 2-2-1-7-9-7." "Oh, this is no game, Mr. Ford. It is deadly serious. The Trust has guided this nation for over 200 years. We've shaped it into the preeminent superpower on the planet, and we will continue to improve it by any means necessary. I understand that our methods may appear... extreme, but, I assure you, the country will emerge from this crisis stronger than ever! If you truly want to serve your country, join us! The Trust could use people like you." "I should thank you, Mr. Ford. By killing your only ally, you've saved me the trouble of killing him myself." "You don't really think you can make a difference in all this, do you, Mr. Ford? The Trust has been the bedrock of this country for hundreds of years. We have the reach, influence, and technology to restore America to dominance of this world and we will not be stopped, not by nations, not by armies, and certainly not by one lone man." "You know, you've been a great disappointment to me, Mr. Ford. I've refrained from killing you in hopes that you would see the error of your ways and join us. But you are unable to see past your childish morals and ideals and that has made you weak. The fate of our nation is greater than the life of one man, or even an entire city. We will succeed, Mr. Ford, and when it is all over, I will pry the ASE from your corpse!" "Ah, Mr. Ford! I see you made it out of DC. It's a pity no one else did." Adams: "Mr. Ford! It's kind of you to see me off, but I'm afraid you won't be following me this time." Ford: "I'll find you again, Adams!" Adams: "Unless you're a strong swimmer, I doubt that very much. Best of luck to you and your little round friend." Trivia *During the credits of the Conduit, it is revealed that not only was Adams the founder of the Trust, but is also an alien exile called Enlil, who was sent to Earth more than 240 years ago. *John Adams is the John Adams, the second president of the United States.